Is my idea new?

Determining whether your idea is new can be complicated. There are various levels of “new”, from an entirely new product or service to an improvement of an existing product.

An idea does not have to be totally unique to be successful, you may have a competitive advantage over existing offerings even if your idea is similar.

There are two key areas to look in order to develop a basic understanding of how good your new your idea is:

• The Market 
• Patents

The Market

Researching the market and current offerings provides a valuable view of the current state of your market, size etc. 

Patents

Patent information is an excellent resource full of inventions and ideas in practically every industry in the world. It is a great source of inventions which never became products, as well as the most successful products in the world.